Tesla to Deliver Affordable Model 3 EV to U.S. Customers in July

By Philly Murtha, July 05, 2017

Nearly two weeks ahead of schedule, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the first driver-ready Model 3 will come off the production line on Friday, July 7, at the Fremont, CA, plant. With a suggested retail price of about $35,000 before incentives, such as a $7,500 federal tax credit, the newest electric car from Tesla is slated for first delivery to customers on July 28.

Production for the new Model 3 will ramp up slowly. Musk suggested in a tweet this week that some 100 units of the new Model 3 will be built in August and that the number will ramp up to 1,500 copies in September. By December, Musk expects an average build of 20,000 units per month. However, many of the hundreds of thousands of customers who reserved their Model 3 with $1,000 placeholder payments will have a long wait, according to most reports. Yet, the car already is so popular that there is an online Model 3 owners' club with its own forum.

Tesla’s “most affordable electric car yet” can seat 5 adults and accelerates from 0-60 mph in 6 seconds, according to the company. The hope is to achieve a NHTSA 5-star safety rating, according to Tesla. Fifteen-minute test drives to assess capabilities and performance will be available at all Tesla store sites with sign-up on Tesla’s website. Currently, there are some 100 stores and that number could double by year-end with pre-order sales, according to Musk. On the website, Tesla provides a list of tax credits and additional incentives in the United States and Canadian provinces.

Ordering the Model 3 with options and preferences for a delivery date can be done online at the Palo Alto, CA,-based carmaker’s website. Contact information and a $2,500 order payment are required. A delivery experience specialist will help with setting up purchase or lease financing arrangements, dealing with trade-ins, and installing home charging equipment. Model 3 cars will be delivered to the nearest service center for pickup. If a consumer lives more than 160 miles from a service center, the Model 3 will be shipped to their home or business.